Finding Information on the Web I

CS 102

Oct. 5, 2005

Name(s)

Introduction

This lab will help us:

1. Hone our search skills.

2. Compare and contrast a few types of search tools.

Lab

1. Which accesses a larger database of documents, the search engine at Yahoo! or the search engine at Google? Explain your answer. (You may have to run a search in order to find this information. If you can, try to find information on Yahoo's subject tree, not its general search engine.)

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. The connection between dogs and the number 42 was discussed in Section 6.2.1. Go to Yahoo! and, beginning with a search for Douglas Adams fan sites, track down the answer to the question, ``What role does the number 42 play in the lives of all dogs?''

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Visit FindSpot (www.findspot.com) and read their search tips on ``Getting Less Results.'' Explain the differences between these queries:
   1. dogs cats

      
      
      
      
      
      
      

   2. +dogs cats

      
      
      
      
      
      
      

   3. dogs -cats

      
      
      
      
      
      
      

   4. "dogs cats"

      
      
      
      
      
      
      

   Which query would you expect to return the most results? The fewest results? Explain your answers.

4. Compare and contrast the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) with The Invisible Web (www.invisible-web.net). What do they have in common? How do they differ? Illustrate your points by visiting IPL and conducting a search on the keyword ``environment.'' How many resources does IPL return? Visit the Invisible Web and conduct the same search. How many resources does Invisible Web return? Does it return any of the same resources as IPL?

Tom Kelliher